Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for generating an on screen display (OSD) image.
Description of the Related Art
A digital television (DTV) displays not only a digital video signal on a screen, but also program information related to the digital video signal. Generally, the on screen display (OSD) data displayed on screen for showing program information to users may include, but not limited to, program guides, channel lists, and OSD banners. FIG. 1 shows an exemplary OSD image (i.e. an OSD banner) displayed on a screen. The OSD banner includes a frame and the program information. The frame defines an area of the screen for displaying the OSD banner. The frame can be described by its relevant attributes, e.g. position on the screen, frame width, frame height, and frame color etc. In the exemplary image shown in FIG. 1, the OSD banner includes program information revealed by three textual strings, including channel name, period, and close caption information. The channel name, e.g. NBC, represents the currently displayed channel. The period, e.g. 19:00-21:00, represents the start time and the end time of the currently displayed program. The close caption information, e.g. CC1, is a predefined string representing that a type of close caption has been displayed on the screen. The string “CC1” may be replaced by a representation signal, e.g. “eng” reprinting English, which could be retrieved from the broadcast digital video signal.
In the following paragraphs, a novel method for generating an on screen display (OSD) image is provided.